Conventional Gone Natural: Part I

I started riding at a very young age. I enjoyed getting on a horse and making a horse do what I wanted. Nothing seemed wrong with this and I was encouraged by my trainers to do so. Never did any of my trainers want me to treat my horse like a partner. The horse was there to do what I wanted and did not have feelings. If a horse was acting up all the more reason to lunge the horse and make him tired. If the horse was slow I was told to use a whip and spurs to speed him up.

For over a decade I watched riders older and better than me ride with complete confidence. They could get their horse to do anything they wanted and if the horse put up a fight he was either forced to submit or sold. Submission came in the form of harsh bits, tie-downs, draw reins, long lunging sessions, and other devices/training methods developed to make a horse succumb to humans. I was envious of this confidence and wanted to be just like them. I would watch them and try to figure out what made them a better rider. My competitiveness fueled my desire to be the best and I didn't care how many horses I had to force into submission. I was going to be like the riders I envied. To put myself on the map and become a better rider I started riding every difficult or young horse I could find. If a trainer was having problems with a horse I would ask them if I could try riding him. In my mind I believed I would turn heads if the horses I rode were at one point "difficult". I am lucky nothing catastrophic happened to me because my courage was definitely arrogance driven. I had to get to the top of the riders who were better then me and boldness seemed to be the fastest way there.

For all of the natural horsemanship people reading this blog I am sure you are shaking your heads. Yes, I had no idea what I was doing and all I wanted to do was feed my ever-growing ego.

For the conventional horse training people reading this blog I am sure you are shaking your heads as well, but not for the same reason. Most of you think your methods aren't that severe. They might not be. I was a product of aggressive and disdainful training methods. I am not proud of what I did, but I have learned a valuable lesson that leads me to ask you...

Are you ready for Part II?